The Evening Post. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1865.

Evening Post, Issue 207, 6 October 1865, Page 2

The Evening Post. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1865.

The establishment of free public libraries, available to all classes of the people, is perhaps one of the most hopeful signs of the the times. In 1849 The Libraries Act was passed, and soon after a few of the leading men of Manchester earned it into operation in that city. A free public library was formed, which soon became very popular. Branch libraries were formed in the precincts of the city, and were well attended. Sheffield and one or two other towns availed themselves of the Act and carried out its provisions success' fully. It was found, however, that the Act did not work well, and that under its operation the object aimed at by its promoters could not be carried out to an; great extent. The Free Libraries Act wae passed in 1855. It provides that corporations town councils, or parish boards, shall have power to levy a tax not exceeding a pennj in the pound, for the purpose of establishand maintaining a free public library, providing always that the parish, town, 01 city for which such library is intended shall have a population of not less than two thousand people. The funds so raised are vested in trustees elected by the rate payers, who are made responsible for the disposal of such funds. This meaaure was just what the people wan'.ed, and it soon grew into popularity. Throughout the north of England, particularly the manufacturing districts, and in a part of Wales and Scotland, libraries were formed undei it, all of which have prospered, and manj of them now are noble institutions. In them may be seen Gaily the brawney mechanic and the book-worn student, the nobleman and the peasant sitting side bj side, each one gleaning information foi himself, and to these libraries many wh( now shine as scientific scholars or legisla

tors attribute their first desires for learning. The influence these institutions must hsive for good is vast. In them the working man, while earning his daily bread, haa the means at his disposal of improving find preparing himself for a higher position in society, while every one has the means of obtaining the use of books which otherwise would be available only to the wealthy. In Melbourne a free public library, containing now over ninety thousnnd volumes, has been established by the Go- \ eminent of that colony, and as a means of cultivating a taste for the higher classes of literature and of diffusing solid and u-eful information amongst the people, it in of vast importance. The number of visitors to the library averages over four thousand weekly. It is well managed, and is an honour to the colony. In New Zealand nothing of the kind has ¦yet been attempted, notwithstanding the fact that we have a great many literary men amongst us, who must feel the loss of the large and well selected libraries to which they were in the habit of resorting in the mother country. The establishment of such institutions is as much the duty of the Government as the establishment of day schools, and every day the necessity of taking action in the matter is becoming more pressing. Our population is rapidly increasing, and with its increase the necessity for making due provision for its intellectual, as well as its social, development, becomes more binding on the Government. It may be suppos d that Mechanics' Institutes fully meet the requirements of the masses, but such is not the case. Many, through poverty, are unable , to avail themselves of them, and are thereby deprived of means of improving and making themselves of more value to the country. Besides, the libraries provided by such institutions are, as a rule, both scanty and badly selected.